1. Field of the Invention
A firestopping design is shown in the present invention which is for the purpose of providing intumescent firestopping materials into openings extending through construction barriers such as walls, ceilings or floors. Such intumescent materials expand rapidly responsive to heat and/or fire for the purpose of sealing these openings. Such sealing mechanisms are commonly utilized in residential as well as commercial buildings. The present invention deals with a device which has the capability of providing the correct amount of intumescent material while simultaneously allowing a specific design for the containment sleeve to be usable with a wide range of sizes and numbers of penetrating members. Sometimes such a sleeve is usable for only a single penetrating member of a very small dimension and other times it is usable with multiple penetrating members which can assume a rather large overall accumulative diameter. The present invention allows a single construction to be expandable for use in a wide variety of different poke-through applications. This invention hereby makes specific reference to U.S. Pat. No. 6,732,481, issued May 11, 2004, by the same inventor, applicant and assignee noted herein on an “Intumescent Firestopping Apparatus”. The present invention is specifically designed to be a modification of that particular design which includes a wider range of flexibility due to the introduction of self-adjusting movable plates. Applicant hereby expressly incorporates by reference all of the subject matter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,732,481 for all purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous patents have been issued which deal with intumescent materials used for sealing openings such as poke-through openings in various construction barriers such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,779 patented Apr. 28, 1981 to T. Rhodes et al and assigned to General Signal Corporation on a “Poke-Through Electrical Fitting With Releasable Wedging Point For Retention”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,486 patented Mar. 3, 1987 to W. Hauff on a “Flame-Retarding Wall Feedthrough Fitting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,180 patented Oct. 23, 1990 to G. J. Harbeke on a “Shower Strainer Mounting Assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,475 patented Apr. 12, 1994 to S. F. Stefely on a “Fire Stop Device”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,127 patented Jun. 6, 1995 to S. F. Stefely on a “Fire Stop Closure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,126 patented Jan. 25, 2000 to N. Castellani et al and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a “Flush Poke-Through Wiring Fitting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,623 patented Sep. 5, 2000 to N, Bonilla et al and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a “Poke-Through Floor Fitting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,078 patented Jan. 16, 2001 to S. Bambardekar et al and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a “Flush Poke-Through Wiring Fitting Having A Height Adjustable Data Jack Mounting Bracket”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,152 patented Oct. 23, 2001 to N. Bonilla et al and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a “Poke-Through Floor Fitting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,692 patented Nov. 13, 2001 to H. Munzenberger et al and assigned to Hilti Aktiengesellschaft on a “Lead-In System For Ceilings And Walls Including Trapezoidally Corrugated Sheet Metal Framework”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,446 patented Jul. 9, 2002 to J. H. Whitehead and assigned to Thomas & Betts International, Inc. on a “Concealed Service Poke-Through Device”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,518,498 patented Feb. 11, 2003 to N. Bonilla et al and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a “Poke-Through Floor Fitting With Thermally Activated Conductor Links”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,169 patented Mar. 25, 2003 to M. G. Dykhoff and assigned to 3M Innovative Properties Company on an “Adjustable Rack For Supporting Firestop Material In A Through-Penetration”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,5531,130 patented Apr. 22, 2003 to N. Bonilla and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a “4×8 Fire Rated Poke Through Fitting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,081 patented Sep. 2, 2003 to M. T. Cole et al and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a “Water-Tight Cover Assembly For An In-Floor Fitting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,696,640 patented Feb. 24, 2004 to N. Castellani et al and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a “Quad Receptacle, Dual Circuit Flush Poke-Through Wiring Fitting With Internally Mountable Communication/Data Jacks”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,100 patented Apr. 6, 2004 to Dd. D. Morris and assigned to Milliken & Company on a “Fire Resistant Conduit Insert For Optical Fiber Cable”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,495 patented Apr. 13, 2004 to N. Castellani et al and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a “Quad Receptacle, Dual Circuit Flush Poke-Through Wiring Fitting With Internally Mountable Communication/Data Jacks”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,732,481 patented May 11, 2004 to J. P. Stahl, Sr. and assigned to Specified Technologies Inc. on an “Intumescent Firestopping Apparatus”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,750,395 patented Jun. 15, 2004 to J. B. Stout et al and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a “Poke-Thru Fitting Having Polymeric Based Intumescent Material”; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2004/0128927 A1 published Jul. 8, 2004 to M. T. Cole on an “Integrated Ceiling And Wireway Distribution System” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,345 patented Aug. 31, 2004 to M. D. Morgan et al and assigned to W.R. Grace & Co.-Conn on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Design Pat. No. D498,211 patented Nov. 9, 2004 to S. C. Thibault and assigned to The Wiremold Company on a “Surface Mounted Electrical Cable Way”.